Top 50 Films of the 2000s part 3, or How the 'best of' continues

TOP 50 FILMS OF THE 2000s

This is obviously a biased list of titles that range from Oscar winners to animated gems, and the only criteria I used was: "movies that I have thought about, have rewatched over and over again and which have stayed with me in one way or another." It's a "best of" list only in the sense that that 'best' is utterly subjective.

[Check out parts 1 and 2 here]

10. Pan's Labyrinth

Few directors could do the dazzling and gorgeous effects we see on screen in Pan's Labyrinth at the cost that Guillermo del Toro did them. Even fewer are able to seamlessly merge effects and good storytelling to great effect. This dark fairy-tale for adults (or really mature and violence-ready children) is one of those films I come back to time and time again. It works on so many different levels I'm always scared of flattening it: is it an allegory of Franco's regime? Is it an assault on storytelling in the face of cruelty? Is it a moratorium for fantasy or a redemption of it? Is it a great gothic story or an Alice in Wonderland for Franco's Spain?

9. Volver

The movie that turned Penelope Cruz from a beautiful Spanish actress making bad choices when it came to Hollywood movies to a gorgeous Spanish actress earning her first Oscar nomination for an Almodovar film and seeing her become an actress to be reckoned with. Almodovar's film is so sumptuous (no wonder it's obsessed with food!) and so funny and so heartwarming (that you forget it opens with an episode around child-molestation and murder!) it gets me every time.

8. Revolutionary Road

It's an unpopular film with some from a director that has polarized opinions about his work ever since he won the Oscar for (the still undervalued) American Beauty. And I'll say it now: Sam Mendes is a director that enthralls me. What others decry as his stylistic obsession (with perfectly calculated frames and shots that might feel stifling in their exactness) is what draws me most to his oeuvre. Adapting Richard Yates's bleak and unforgiving look at American suburbia in the 1950s, Mendes - reuniting a 'titanic' pair (Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio), creates what is to me a 50s tragic melodrama that stifles the viewer in order to mirror the claustrophobia April and Frank Wheeler experience.

7. Mullholland Dr.

Many of these films on my list I loved on first viewing. Not this one. But then, first-viewings rarely do David Lynch films any favours. The distorted, fractal, dream-like structure of Mullholland Dr is no difference. Here was a movie that captivated my thoughts and haunted me for weeks on end, demanding a reviewing - not for mere understanding (for how futile and thankless that would be) but for the joy of reliving the carefully calibrated experience of the film. Naomi Watts has never been better than here, embodying the fragile and yet cunning nature of her ephemeral character (what are Lynch's characters but mere shadows, mirrors and dream images?).

6. Amélie

Few films can pull off a suicide and milk it for laughs without seeming grotesque or unseemly. Yet this Jean Pierre Jeunet film strikes that fine balance between dark humour and light-hearted tone when it comes to things as death, sex, love and relationships. Amélie won many hearts upon its release (mine included) and there's no shortage of reasons why. Here was a visually stunning film with a truly magnetic lead whose 'fabulous destiny' (as the french title dubs it) is a joy to watch. The colours pop, the dialogue snaps and the blend of romance, humour and urban-fairy-tale style are hard to resist.

5. The Hours

The cast list alone would have secured this film's presence in this list, yet if films like Evening have taught us is that regardless of the strength of your cast, you need a good film behind them to make it work. Carefully adapting Michael Cunningham's novel of the same name, Daldry & co created a three-pronged meditation on writing, reading, living and breathing using Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway as both its center and end-goal. Meryl, Nicole and Julianne each command the screen and embody these characters with the pathos of womanhood - those close ups that Daldry privileges so much are only stunning because these three actresses can emote widely and subtly without succumbing to mere posture. That each is given juicy scenes (Nicole in the train station, Julianne and Toni's scene in the kitchen, Meryl's meltdown) with literate and awfully eloquent writing only helps elevate this great adaptation.

4. WALL-E

It's no surprise a PIXAR film made it to my Top 5. Six of their seven releases would have easily made it to a Top 25 list (Cars still ranks as my least-favorite PIXAR film and the only one I never saw in theaters) but to keep things fair, I restricted myself to only one in the Top 10. Andrew Stanton's Sci-Fi romantic 'green fable' film is not only gorgeous but a master-class in animation. To make the two protagonists as emotive as they are, able to convey as many emotions as they do without falling into the Dreamworks-like anthropomorphism we are so used to is a feat in itself. Part Buster Keaton, part Woody Allen and part Johnny 5, WALL-E is a character that became an endearing part of my life last year (just ask any of my friends how many times I use "EEEE-VAAH" in normal conversation). For showing how astounding PIXAR can be and bringing to fruition almost ten years of film-making, WALL-E deserves as spot in my Top 5.

3. Closer

I'm probably in the minority when it comes to my undying love for this Mike Nichols's film. But no other film has tapped into my feelings about relationships as well as this stage-to-film adaptation. It destroys me emotionally every time I watch it. You may deem it misanthropic (and I would agree) and you may claim its cold and unflinching in its portrayal of these mostly dysfunctional and mean-spirited characters (and I would agree) but there is something oddly familiar to me about Anna (the understated and undervalued Julia Roberts), Alice (the explosively sexy Natalie Portman), Dan (a meek and miserable Jude Law) and Larry (a frightening and cunning Clive Owen). That probably says more about me than about them, but I feel at home with these characters and Marber's script, with its stagey/Mamet-like dialogue punches me in the gut every time. And I love it for it.

2. Moulin Rouge!

This list is mostly about films who have stayed with me over the years. I still remember the first time I saw Baz Luhrmann's musical. I remember being rapt with awe in front of the TV (silly of me to have missed this in the big screen!) and knowing that I had found a film that I would never forget. From its sumptuous costume design and visual flair, to its modern re-working of vintage songs, to its by-the-numbers star-crossed-lovers plot, to its obsession with intertextuality and meta-drama, it felt like finding a cinematic soulmate. My love for Ms Kidman found its start here (I vaguely remembered her as 'that girl from Batman Forever, can you believe it?) and the Tango of Roxxane shot up to being my number one movie scene of all time (such choreography! such editing! such passion!) This is a movie I watch every couple of months and while it may have its flaws, it's a movie I know I could not live without.

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Picking my number one film of the decade was probably the easiest choice of the entire list. Michel Gondry's visually inventive and stunning film, working from an off-beat (and brilliant) Charlie Kauffman script is a wonder of a movie. Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, as Clementine and Joel, give performances that feel real even when the situations around them are crazy (I particularly love the scene in Joel's childhood kitchen with Carrey making good use of his comedic chops playing a four year old version of Joel, while Clementine can't help but bask in the stylish 60s setting). This is most likely the greatest contemporary romantic comedy because dysfunction and the quotidian take front and center, eschewing rom-com staples like "platonic and idealized romance" as well as an unambiguously happy and hopeful ending. Joel and Clementine's relationship (and our experience of it) fractures and frames our viewing experience, so as to let us experience the highs as well as the lows without polishing or organizing them to make them feel cinematic.

TV in the 2000s or How Let's name ABND's Best Drama Actors/Actresses

Best Performances (TV Drama)

Narrowing the performance/actor categories was HARD. But I went with two things:

1. Do I like the actor/actress?

2. Do I like the performance?

Okay, maybe that didn't help 'em narrow them down at all. But I do have a crazy math system in the back of my head. Just don't make me explain it to cause I'm sure it would blow you away with its awesome and accurateness.

Best Drama Actor

What is it about male actors that keeps me from being wholly invested in them and prevents me from giving great praise to their work? I was planning on writing these men up but maybe it's the end-of-year fatigue coupled with the amount of schoolwork I have but I think they'll speak for themselves.

Jon Hamm - Don Draper (Mad Men)

"You are the product. You feeling something. That's what sells. Not them. Not sex. They can't do what we do and they hate us for it."

Peter Krause - Nate Fisher (Six Feet Under)

"None of us know how long we've got. Which is why we have to make each day matter."

Michael C Hall - David Fisher (Six Feet Under)/ Dexter Morgan (Dexter)

"Yeah, I'll be the strong one, the stable one, the dependable one, because that's what I do. And everyone around me will fall apart. 'Cause that's what they do." - David

"Viva Miami" - Dexter

Hugh Laurie - Dr Gregory House (House)

"It's Never Lupus!"

Victor Garber - Jack Bristow (Alias)

"Sydney, get in. Get in now... you can be stubborn later."

Runners up:

What would Battlestar Galactica have been without Edward James Olmos' raspy, Bale-doing-Batman voice and stern command? What would Big Love have been without its center piece in the form of Bill Paxton? Or, what would Joss's Angel had been without its leading cast member (David Boreanaz, now a staple at Fox's Bones)? Answer: not as good a show as they were.

Best Drama Actress

The ladies though, I couldn't leave without some commentary. Brief as it may be:

Mary McDonnell - President Laura Roslin (Battlestar Galactica)

"I won't compromise the success of this operation or the safety of this fleet to indulge the neediness of 12 perpetually unhappy representatives. I can't."

What to say about one of the most complex female political figures to grace TV this past decade? The younger cast may have given us plenty of eye candy (Tricia, Katee, Tammoh, Jamie) but it was truly in the duo of Edward James-Olmos and Mary McDonnell, that BSG soared for me. In Laura Roslin - a minister of Education thrust into the role of president after humankind is annihilated, McDonnell gave us a towering presence from the miniseries all the way to the end, when we finally saw her experience pure happiness. Here was a woman who knew what was best for humanity and in many odd ways managed to make me support and believe in the powers of dictatorship, torture, as well as ruthless political strategy without ever making me blink or doubt her. That alone was a feat in itself. The fact that despite this resolute nature of her was still imbued with tenderness and vulnerability (not only in the form of her illness but in her romantic engagement with Adama), without ever seeming at odds, shows how carefully McDonnell (a past Oscar nominee, let us not forget) crafted this character.

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

"I'm the thing that monsters have nightmares about. And right now, you and me are gonna show 'em why."

Probably my pick for the bravest and most fully formed character this past decade, there's no denying that Buffy Summers wouldn't have been the pop cultural icon it became without the strength of Gellar's thespian skills. Few can straddle the line between high camp and deep melancholy which this part required. Here was a conflicted woman torn between triviality (prom, dating, hairstyles, boys) and the transcendent (death, grief, demons, boys). "The Body" - the episode where Buffy's mom passes away (beautifully directed sans accompanying score by Joss Whedon) is one of the most affecting episodes this show ever produced. To see Gellar's close ups is to see a great actress at work, showing so much grief and so much pain yet trying to remain in control and composed: but how does a slayer deal with death when 'death is her gift' as that season constantly reminded us? But it wasn't just the dramatic scenes that make Buffy a great character and Gellar a worthy candidate for this award: her comedic timing (whether she's playing a robot version of herself, going all "cave-girl" because of beer, or playing up her ditzy blonde routine) is flawless, never missing a beat and always willing to be butt of the joke should the occasion require it. For that, Gellar remains one of my all-time favorite actresses, even if her filmography leaves much to be desired.

January Jones - Betty Draper (Mad Men)

"Sally! Go Bang Your head against the wall"

There are many detractors when it comes to Betty Draper. But one thing that is hard to argue is that, regardless how you feel about Betty, you have to give January Jones props for unflinchingly making Betty the ice-cold Nordic frazzled and childish queen that she is. While her storyline this past season fell mostly on the grating side, her season 2 arc is one of the most interesting examinations of female (and feminine) desire in twentieth century America I've seen put on screen (and here's someone who loves Revolutionary Road, Far From Heaven, The Women, The Hours and Almodovar's films). Betty may seem like a spoiled child (and there's no denying she is) but rather than see her as merely promoting this ideal, Weiner's show is clearly more interested in examining her as a symptom of the culture that bred her. Her mood swings are no less a consequence of here-and-there plot twists but more of a portrayal of the conflicting discourses that rule her life and which she cannot seem to comprehend. I am still waiting to see what they have in store for her next season (I, for one don't want Betty to go away) but these past three seasons enamoured me and while she's anything but lovable, she's fascinated and most of this is because Jones plays her so beautifully (her melancholy gazes, her hysterical fits, even her eerie calm resolve are always magnetic).

Jeanne Tripplehorn - Barb Henrickson (Big Love)

"We're never too far apart when we're holding hands."

This show is pitch-perfect when it comes to complex women (any of the other two wives could have easily made this lineup) but for me it's all about Barb. Maybe it's because she's the one I can relate to the most (and the one that most reminds me of my mother) but it's also because she seems to be the most fully formed and conflicted when it comes to her make-shift "family" and still its most staunch supporter (as evidenced by last season's storyline). She always breaks my heart but what Tripplehorn manages is to achieve this without falling into a portrayal that plays up her victim-like position (which is rarely promoted by the writing itself) but by braving the attacks on her family and her lifestyle knowing full well how she will always stand for what is right (which is why I love the quote that I chose): she may not agree with Margie or Nikki all the time, but she loves them. Family, as they say, always comes first.

Amy Acker - Winifred Burkle (Angel)/Dr Saunders (Dollhouse)

"This has been the best night ever. First, there's you taking me to ice cream, then there's the ice cream, then that monster jumps out of the freezer and you're all brave and, "Fred, watch out!," and then we get to chase it down into the sewers, which are just so bleak, and oppressive and homey. I-I could build a condo down here." - Fred

"You can't be your best. Your best is past. Your past you can't even remember. You're ugly now. You're disgusting. All you can hope for now is pity. And for that, you're going to have to look somewhere else." - Dr Saunders

This is probably my only left-field entry but I have a soft-spot for Amy Acker and I truly believe that her 2 (well, 4 if we're being specific) Whedon characters speak very highly about this young Sci-Fi starlet (it's no surprise she has several Saturn Award nominations and one win under her belt). From the quirky and lovable Winifred ("Fred") to the ice-cold alien nature of Illyria to the touching pitiable Dr Saunders (and then her creepy and touching turn as Whiskey), Acker showed great range, while still nailing the vulnerable and wounded aspects of her characters. "A Hole in the World" (the episode where - spoilers alert! - Fred "dies") still ranks as one of my all-time favorite Whedon episodes and most of it is due to Acker's performance because even as it could have fallen into cliche (dying words, sickness), her tenderness and humour weren't completely gone and made the scene when she finally dies that much more heartbreaking.

Runners up:

The Six Feet Under gals (Lauren Ambrose, Rachel Griffiths & Frances Conroy) for carefully adding much needed estrogen to the boy-ruled household. Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) for making Six a more complex and interesting cylon than most human TV characters this decade. The Damages pair: this show really works Rose Byrne and Glenn Close for all their thespian power and in the process we get two lawyers with more characterization than a mere procedural would ever require.

TV in the 2000s, or How let's name ABND's Best Comedy Actor

Best Performances (TV Comedy) Part 1

Narrowing the performance/actor categories was HARD. But I went with two things:

1. Do I like the actor/actress?

2. Do I like the performance?

Okay, maybe that didn't help 'em narrow them down at all. But I do have a crazy math system in the back of my head. Just don't make me explain it to cause I'm sure it would blow you away with its awesome and accurateness.

Best Performance by an Actor (Comedy)

Sean Hayes - Jack McFarland (Will & Grace)

"They say Jack is a wise man, Jack is a dangerous man, Jack is a great man, no. - Jack is just a man. A man who knows men who like men."

Sure, Will & Grace was about that eponymous dysfunctional gay man/straight woman couple but we all know the laughs belonged to Jack and (see below) Karen. Is 'Jack' the ultimate gay stereotype? I don't know, but if he straddles the line between stereotype and accurate depiction (Oh, the many 'Jack McFarlands' I've met!) it must have worked that this character never took itself too seriously. Emmy Winner Sean Hayes embodied this character to the extent that seeing him play a hick on 30 Rock jarred me in a good way. From 'Just Jack!' to 'Just Jack 2000!' to 'Student Nurse Jack' to OutTV executive who sing-ed his eyebrow (one of my favorite moments of the show in the season 8 premiere, and no he doesn't mean 'singed' he meant 'sang'), Jack was always an adorable gay man who for all his (alleged) gay sexual philandering, had his heart in the right place. Just be sure to not distract him with polysyllabic words or shiny objects.

Alec Baldwin - Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)

"You go to that house and work it like a Chinese gymnast: wear something tight, force a smile, and lie about your age."

Two-time Emmy winner Alec Baldwin is that rare thespian who turned a solid movie career (including an Oscar nomination) into a great comedic vehicle (okay, so maybe it's not so rare anymore now that the Sally Fields and the Glenn Closes of the world have their own TV show). To cast Baldwin against a rag-tag of crazy secondary characters on 30 Rock and to make Jack Donaghy as the political opposite of Baldwin himself makes for the greatest reasons why he shines so much in his role. He is at once playing an exaggerated foil of himself and playing it straight to an army of crazy though we all know how crazy a comic Baldwin can be (he has hosted SNL 14 times, only one short of the record held by upcoming co-Oscar host Steve Martin). From 'El Generalissimo' to his therapy sessions to Tracy, to his one-liners, to his incredible affairs with women as distinct as Phoebe (a feeble-boned Emily Mortimer), a crazy Bianca (Isabella Rossellinni), la viuda negra (Salma Hayek) and CC Cunningham (Edie Falco), Jack has a spot in the greatest 'bosses of comedy' Hall of Fame (suck it Michael Scott!).

Will Arnett - GOB (George Bluth) (Arrested Development) & Devon Banks (30 Rock)

"Dad asked me to do this on the day he pleads not guilty, as a spectacular protest. A protestacular!" (Bluth)

"Celebrity snuff. Reality content made exclusively for your mobile phone: Oh what's that? MC Lyte just murdered Danny Bonaduce? Thanks, PHONE!" (Banks)

Does anyone play odd-ball better than Emmy nominee Will Arnett (aka. Mr Amy Poehler)? He has given us two characters this decade that merit mention. The first (GOB Bluth in Arrested Development) showed an actor that could go wherever the writers took him (and they took him to very very wacky places - need we say more than "Franklin Delano Bluth"?) and whose physical chops for comedy (whether as a magician failing at an escape trying to help his father escape or attempting to hang himself with a belt) were always in service of the crazy world of the Bluth family.

With Devon Banks, Arnett created a character (some say based on Ben Silverman) who will go any length to get to the top of the GE chain of command and get back at Jack Donaghy (including hiding his sexuality, marrying a woman he doesn't even stand, attempt to clog Jack's arteries with beef and wine and charm the Obama girls). HIs Banks is sleazy and power-hungry but also hysterically overblown, especially when using his 'gruff voice' to intimidate employees or seduce Kenneth the page while wearing a tiny hotel robe.

Neil Patrick Harris - Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)

"Legen - wait for it... hope you're not lactose intolerant cause the second half of that word is -dairy!"

It's not just the catch-phrases ("Self-five! Phone-five! High five!" "Have you ... met Ted?") and it's not just the suits ("Suit up!") or about the seemingly aimless womanizing of a certain Barney Stinson. It's how effortlessly multiple Emmy nominee (and 2009 Emmy host!) Neil Patrick Harris marries Barney's nonchalant approach to women (let us remember he keeps cameras in his bedroom, the recent 'Playbook') and his high-dork factor (he does after all love laser-tag, owns a Star Wars stormtrooper and makes scrapbooks of the girls' he's slept with). Barney is a character that can romance a girl while wearing old-man makeup - he's as corny as he is awesome. Barney - for all its blatant heterosexuality might be the queerest member of this NYC group of friends (not because NPH is gay) but because he becomes the stand-in character in a marriage-plot driven sitcom for anti-marriage, anti-monogamy and anti-family. As a character, Barney is a foil to Ted's marriage-driven plot/life (which might explain why the greatest tension of the character was his coming to terms with what he felt for Robin including several spastic and schizo moments of 'I love her!' 'I want women still!' we saw and enjoyed last season and why their getting together felt at once earned and yet unsatisfactory).

Runners-up:

The Friends boys (Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer) for making come back to Central Perk every week be it for their awkward humour, their adorable idiocy or their love for paleontology. Erick McKormack (Will & Grace) for giving me a gay NYC neurotic as a role model so early on. Bret & Jemaine (Flight of the Conchords) for making Kiwis so folksy cool and writing 'Leggy Blonde' for to hum along on random mornings. And Ricky Gervais (Extras) for making awkward so funny and stellar.

TV in the 2000s, or How let's name ABND's Best Comedy Series

Best of the 2000s Next Door

The decade is coming to a close and we all know what that means: TOP [insert arbitrary number here] LISTS! Not one to be left out of the bandwagon (cause, really, what better way is there to travel than in a bandwagon with random people?) I have decided to count down my favorite (read: best) things from this decade.You'll see posts counting down my favorite TV shows (Comedy/Drama) as well as my favorite films and performances (TV/Film) from the decade. These are totally biased choices based on what I watch (I'm not aiming for an objective perspective - not just because I don't watch EVERYTHING on TV but because this is my blog and I cater to no "masses" (so if you were hoping that comedies centered around an overweight male and his hot wife or films based on bromantic situations with crass humour... this ain't the place for you).

Best TV (Comedy)

I've always been a comedy guy. Dramas (as you'll see when I count them down) are not my forte at all. But comedies - situational or otherwise - are what I grew up on: The Nanny, Seinfeld, Gilligan's Island, Bewitched, Mad About You, I Dream of Jenie, etc. all helped raise me to be who I am today. Comedies are where I learned about New York City (even though they were filmed in Los Angeles), where I learned what a family was (even if they were ten times crazier than my own) and where I learned that friends will there whether you cast a black man in your show, say someone else's name at a wedding, bring the love of your life back from the dead, decide to become a nurse on a whim or decide to go Yale instead of Harvard. And so, I give you my Top 5 Comedies from the 2000s:

30 Rock

This one is for the books (and not just because of its Emmy-nomination record) but because its absurd hijinks, its rat-tat-tat dialogue full of witty one-liners ("Lemon, it's after six-o'clock; what am I a farmer?"/ "I want to go there") and its great ensemble (including Emmy winners Alec Baldwin & Tina Fey as well as Emmy nominees Jane Krakowski, Tracy Morgan and Jack McBrayer) would usually relegate this comedy to cult-status (see Arrested Development) but 30 Rock, while not cranking out NCIS ratings numbers, manages to hit the zeitgeist in a way no comedy in recent memory has. From its scathing social commentary on celebrities ("If there were no actors, how would people know who to vote for?") to its political satire of neocons and the bailout, 30 Rock has carved a niche for itself as a quotable water cooler comedy that can easily swing from the asurd ("Werewolf Bar Mitzvah") to the topical ("Greenzo" and Al Gore) without losing a beat.

Friends

Probably 'the' sitcom of the last 20 years (sorry Frasier fans, and Seinfeld fans, if you're curious I'd brand that Larry David produced show as 'the' greatest anti-sitcom sitcom of well...ever), Friends managed to turn a dull-like premise (6 Friends in NYC!) and turn into a wonderful jumping board from soap-like storylines (it wasn't surprising that vaguely half of its season finale hinged on either marriages, births or relationship issues) to hysterical twists on those same ones ('We were on a break!'). Through 10 years we fell for Rachel's hair, Phoebe's 'smelly cat,' Monica's OCD, Chandler's jokes, Ross's 'dinasours,' and Joey's endearing/irritating idiocy. Was it a bit white-washed and representing a wholly implausible NYC life on their salaries? Maybe, but who wants 'reality' in their sitcoms? Friends focused on relationships and the strongest one was the one created between its character and its audience and even while working formulaic sitcomy situations, this series is still a gem when you consider how much we really cared about whether Ross and Rachel would end up together (hint: they did).

Pushing Daisies

If there was one series in my lineup that I wished had lasted longer, it'd be Pushing Daisies. Bryan Fuller's tale of a piemaker who can wake the dead was a brilliant blend of humour, schmaltz, candy-colored visuals and gum-shew plotting. With an impressive cast featuring Swoozie Kurtz, Ellen Greene, Chi McBride, Anna Friel, Lee Pace and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies created 22 episodes in 2 seasons that offered a world that was as cloying as it was funny, as heartwarming as it was slick. It was a bit Tim Burton-ish, a bit Roal Dahl-esque, and in a sense reminded me of the 'magical realism' that marked my childhood: characters don't freak out or overanalyse Ned's power, and that in itself makes for a very magical world where symmetry, bright colours and fairy-tales are evoked, invoked and reworked into the very fabric of the world. As Chuck says in the pilot: "I guess dying is as good an excuse as any to start living." And despite not living long, they truly all did live very well.

Will & Grace

Is it overly sitcom-y? Does it straddle the line between LGBT visibility and gay stereotypes? Maybe, but in a TV landscape that so rarely presents LGBT characters as central to a show, we have to remember how groundbreaking (as well as funny) this show was. Featuring one of the strongest ensemble casts in recent memory (Sean Hayes, Megan Mullally, Eric McCormack and Debra Messing deserve all the hardware they picked up - from Emmys, to SAG Awards to Golden Globes, etc. etc.) Will & Grace took a tried and true formula (a sitcom about roommates!) and spun it into hysterical look at gay life, straight life and everything in between. But in particular, we have to reward a show that gave us Karen Walker - a pill-popping, alcohol-swigging, money-squandering, retort-ready 'secretary.' This is truly a character for the ages with a number of one-liners that put to shame much of what's on TV right now. I'm sure if she could hear the things the likes of Charlie Sheen, Jay Mohr or even Leno, she'd say "By your inflection, I can tell that you think what you're saying is funny, but...no." Amen.

Gilmore Girls

I remember watching the first episode of Gilmore Girls on the WB the day it aired and I realised I had watched something incredible. When I watched the series finale, I found it hard to say goodbye to Lauren Graham's Lorelai and Alexis Bledel's Rory whom I had shared so much with (boyfriends, college, marriages, hospital visits, you name it). This unlikely (and some would say implausible) mother-daughter relationship, grounded in an obsessive consumption and relentless re-quotation of popular culture ("You lost me at carrots, which was the first draft of 'you had me at hello'."), was everything I want in a 'family show' especially as every week it disavowed any schmaltz in favor of witty-one liners and the fastest-delivered dialogue in TV... ever. That Amy Sherman-Palladino surrounded her two protagonists with a wide array of amazing supporting characters (in particular Lorelai's mother Emily and all of Rory's suitors over the years, including a pre-Supernatural Jared Paladecki and a pre-Heroes Milo Ventimiglia) only served to heighten my desire to visit Stars Hollow every week.

Runners-up:

Sex & the City (for giving us Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, Samantha and a version of NYC we all wished existed!), How I Met Your Mother (for trying to resuscitate the sitcom through post-modern storytelling, in such a legen-waitforit-dary way!), Arrested Development (for making us feel a little bit saner by watching the crazy antics of the Bluth family), Desperate Housewives (for a first season which is almost flawless in its blend of intrigue, soap-opera-plotting, master comedic acting and sparkling dialogue), Flight of the Conchords (because Bret and Jemaine make for a odd Kiwi couple pairing whose hysterics are only matched by their crazy folk songs).